Thai customs arrest a Vietnamese and a Chinese for 9 million baht ivory smuggling

[webfact]

IVORY TRADE
A Vietnamese and a Chinese arrested for ivory smuggling

BANGKOK: -- Customs officials have arrested a Chinese woman and a Vietnamese man at Suvarnabhumi Airport after they allegedly tried to smuggle out elephant tusks and ivory products worth about Bt9 million.

The man was identified as Luong Tien Phong, 62 and the woman as Chen Zhiyu, 23. Eighteen pieces of tusk and 587 ivory products, worth in total about Bt9 million were found in their suitcases.

Deputy Customs director general Paisarn Chuenjit said the arrest was the result of his department's strengthening of preventive measures to block the ivory trade in line with CITES.

The arrest was made on July 26 at about 6pm at the Suvarnabhumi Airport. The suspects claimed that they were paid by an Asian to smuggle the items from the Ivory Coast to Cambodia's Siem Reap province via Bangkok. The Chinese was paid US$500 while the Vietnamese US$300.

Speaking at the same press conference, Thunya Netithammakul, deputy director general of the National Parks Department said that the Thai authorities place importance on racking down on this trade, even though Thailand is just a transit point for the smugglers. Many international organisations including CITES, are also giving priority to the issue.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/A-Vietnamese-and-a-Chinese-arrested-for-ivory-smug-30239630.html

-- The Nation 2014-07-28

[ChrisY1]

Some Brownie points earned.....real or fiction??

[iReason]

"Eighteen pieces of tusk and 587 ivory products...were found in their suitcases."

[3NUMBAS]

give em 30 years before all the elephants are gone extinct

[Bangmod]

National Parks Department has never given any shit about animals, only about trading them, getting kickbacks from illegal logging and more.

Now that the Army is in charge they start to preform, afraid of being transferred to lalaland

[Prbkk]

Time to start arresting some Thais involved in these rather than only token foreigners. Thais are in it up to their necks.

[abhaya]

These mules are just tools. Just like drug smugglers who get heavy penalties while the people who are behind it are too big to ever to indict.

[Baerboxer]

Time to start arresting some Thais involved in these rather than only token foreigners. Thais are in it up to their necks.

Will you be presenting your evidence to the appropriate authorities?

Or is this just more sounding off?

[Katipo]

Instant death penalty for anyone directly involved in the killing and/or smuggling of endangered species. Fact is there are billions of us, and very few of them.

[Dibbler]

Not true. Thailand is a consumer of ivory as well as a source of illegal ivory, and a transit point for African ivory on its way to other countries. The denial of this inconvenient truth is the reason Thailand is now threatened with economic sanctions for its number one role in global illegal ivory trade.

[chainarong]

We have a Vietnamese a Chinese and all I see is what a great job the customs at swampy did, which they did , what I do want to see is the contacts, the go between for these people to get this contraband, being from another country and we all know how hard it is to purchase a house or car, so how come these people can walk willy nilly into Thailand, purchase Ivory and then try to leave, give me a break, there's Thai's in this scam up to there necks, where are they???

[iReason]

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Time to start arresting some Thais involved in these rather than only token foreigners. Thais are in it up to their necks.

"Thai authorities place importance on racking down on this trade, even though Thailand is just a transit point for the smugglers."

Now, now, now, don't be so harsh.

It's those nasty foreigners just passing through...

[chris1101]

Those here in the know please forgive my ignorance. Is the sale of ivory in Thailand illegal? A local auction house in Pattaya appears to advertise ivory items for sale. Not sure if I have over-stepped the Forum rules and if so then please delete my post. Thank you.

[bangrak]

What was the deal they cut with the Thai customs? I mean, to say the ivory came from... the Ivory Coast, yeah, suure... But experts (non-Thai) can easily trace the origins of the ivory, and the specific skills of the craftsmen who sculptured it, but my guess is this is a typical Thai 'case closed' thing, and no (non-Thai) experts will have any chance to see this catch... Oh, and when they would both have been only transitting over swampy, why would their transit luggage have been thoroughly re-checked here, how were they caught in fact, or did they enter Thailand before, then carrying the so-called imported ivory with them, with the customs seeing nothing then? Hmm, it all smells very fishy, very Thai, to me!

[wilcopops]

Those here in the know please forgive my ignorance. Is the sale of ivory in Thailand illegal? A local auction house in Pattaya appears to advertise ivory items for sale. Not sure if I have over-stepped the Forum rules and if so then please delete my post. Thank you.

The trade and sale of ivory is LEGAL in Thailand. Of course there are restrictions.....which appear to be enforced on a par with most regulations in Thailand. Edited July 28, 2014 by wilcopops

[Dibbler]

Those here in the know please forgive my ignorance. Is the sale of ivory in Thailand illegal? A local auction house in Pattaya appears to advertise ivory items for sale. Not sure if I have over-stepped the Forum rules and if so then please delete my post. Thank you.

The trade and sale of ivory is LEGAL in Thailand. Of course there are restrictions.....which appear to be enforced on a par with most regulations in Thailand.

Not quite correct. African ivory is banned from sale in Thailand under CITES. Most ivory coming through Thailand originates in Africa. Most of the carved ivory produced in Thailand is imported African ivory much of which is reexported to China or sold to Chinese buyers in Thailand. As an owner of a registered domesticated elephant in Thailand, you are permitted to trade the ivory of a deceased animal. This is where it gets murky as traders are using this rule to funnel hundreds of tonnes of African ivory through the system, way beyond the amount that could possibly be produced by all the registered domesticated elephants in this country. Hence the loophole that allows the trade.

[wabothai]

anybody involved, hang 'm high !!!

[noitom]

The Thais always minimize Thai involvement with their comments like Thailand is "only" a transit point. Until the Thai press and the Thai law enforcement find this point of view unacceptable, then nothing will change. And by the way, it is a false statement and incorrect an non-factual writing. Ivory shops and back rooms in Bangkok's Chinatown are pervasive. Ivory shops are all over Thailand. Thailand is much much more that a "transit point." Casablanca was a "transit point" but all the corruption was happening there. Common Thai press, get with the truth program.

[webfact]

IVORY TRADE
Ivory worth Bt9m seized at airport
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- Customs officials arrested a Chinese woman and a man from Vietnam at Suvarnabhumi Airport after they allegedly tried to smuggle elephant tusks and ivory products worth about Bt9 million out of the country, Customs' deputy chief Paisarn Chuenjit said yesterday.

The man was identified as Luong Tien Phong, 62, and the woman as Chen Zhiyu, 23. They were arrested on Saturday along with 18 pieces of tusk and 587 ivory products, worth about Bt9 million in total, found in their suitcases.

Paisarn said the arrest was the result of his department boosting its preventive measures to block the ivory trade in line with CITES, the international wildlife agency.

The suspects claimed they were paid by an Asian to smuggle the items from the Ivory Coast to Siem Reap in Cambodia via Bangkok. The woman was paid US$500 (Bt15,900) and the Vietnamese man $300 (Bt9,540).

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Ivory-worth-Bt9m-seized-at-airport-30239708.html


-- The Nation 2014-07-29